Hair

Summer hair guide

Hair

Summer hair guide

We know what summer hair is supposed to be: uncomplicated, sexy, fresh. But achieving the perfect wind-tossed, beachy look isn’t easy when humidity turns your carefully crafted hairdo into something resembling an angry muppet or when UVA rays wash out your colour, leaving your hair dry and damaged. Here’s how to get your mid-summer hair mojo working.
Back to the beach There’s a reason why spring/summer catwalks feature gorgeous surfer-girl waves and casual,
messy updos every year: They are universally flattering and capture the effortless mindset of the season.

Messy knotGive Proenza Schouler’s textured, tousled French twist a try. Paul Hanlon, Frédéric Fekkai’s lead stylist for the Proenza Schouler show, described it as “the hair a girl would get from falling asleep on the bus.” (We see it more as an easy, chic updo.) Backstage, Hanlon added fullness by combing a generous amount of Fekkai Coiff Oceanique Tousled Wave Spray through the hair from root to end. Using a diffuser, he finger-combed hair dry before loosely gathering

Beachy waves When it comes to the
relaxed waves and loose curls seen on the catwalks of Emilio Pucci and Luisa Beccaria, the key is not to make them look too perfect, says celebrity stylist Oribe. “You want to work with your texture and create movement rather than go for the ‘perfect’ wave,” says Oribe. “Use a curling iron on random pieces of hair and, depending on your texture, brush through the curls. Run your fingers through your hair with a bit of product—like Oribe Gel Sérum Radiance, Magic and Hold or Crème for Style—to hold the style. The curls shouldn’t look too contrived. It’s not about perfect Shirley Temple spirals; it’s about moisture and natural movement.”

Post-dip 'do Ursula Andress and Halle Berry may have the siren sea exit trademarked, but how do you keep your hair looking cute fresh out of the pool and style it so that you still look great later? Hairstylist Kevin Murphy says that plaits with loose ends are the answer—they look cute with a bikini on the beach and can be used to set your
hair in waves. (We love the soft waves from Alberta Ferretti.) “Part your hair all the way down the middle to create two equal sections,” he says. “Loosely braid each side and secure with an elastic band, leaving some hair free at the ends. Go for a swim and leave your hair in braids. Once you’re out of the water, let the hair in the braids set by allowing it to fully dry. When hair is dry, remove the elastic bands and loosen the plaits gently without undoing the wave too much. For strong hold, add a beach texturizer, like Kevin.Murphy Hair.Resort, and gently scrunch it through the plaits. The final look will be a textured wave that’s smooth around the top of your head and at the ends.”

It’s time to brighten up in a big, bold way. Alain Larivée, Canadian creative consultant for John Frieda, says that the blond trend of the moment is platinum. Not a look for the faint- hearted, but it’s a guaranteed showstopper. (See Lady Gaga, Gwen Stefani and model Abbey Lee Kershaw.) “The colour is very pure, with a sandy, iridescent hue,” says Larivée. “From root to tip, it’s equal-tone, one-dimensional colour.”

All-over colour isn’t just for blondes. “Vibrant red is huge right now,” says Larivée. “It’s the hot colour—a strong, double-pigmented red.” Just look at Rihanna (whose bold-red shade is now simply referred to by the masses as “Rihanna red”), Scarlett Johansson and Blake Lively, all of whom are having a rouge moment. Larivée predicts that this bold colour trend will carry through until fall, when we will start to see more of a coppery hue emerge from salons. But for now, “Make it bold, and make a statement.”

Larivée says that although brown hair with dimension is always flattering, the shade most on trend is a uniform ash brown. “Jennifer Lopez has been wearing her hair like this lately,” he says. “It’s hard to get right—brunettes have natural red pigments in their hair and you need to counter them by using blue or green.” (Suffice to say, this is a salon-only option.)

If you want a more natural colour, Larivée says that the local playground is the place for inspiration. “Children have the best natural high-lights, a beautiful range of multi-level colour.” The balayage style of highlights best mimics this. Ask your stylist for slightly chunky highlights to give a natural ombré effect. Aim for light ends, caramel-coloured mid-lengths and darker roots. Says Larivée: “I call it summer-camp colour.”

Celebrity Style

Michelle Obama was a vision in emerald Gucci

The ever-stylish Michelle Obama wore a glamorous emerald and pink gown to the Kennedy Center Honors Reception at the White House last night, and we are obsessed. (The President looks pretty dapper too.)

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The Gucci number looked perfect for the holiday party season, without being too literal (ahem, red velvet). Slay, Michelle.

It wasn't the first time the First Lady wore Gucci. FLOTUS also rocked a design by Alessandro Michele on the Ellen Degeneres show back in September.

Trends

Meet our January 2017 cover girl: Canadian model Crista Cober

Canadian model (and star of our January fashion story) Crista Cober has been working in the industry for 12 years, but she’s still wrapping her head around the public’s desire to know about her inner life. “I’m a professional model, so I think, wait, ‘you also want to know about me?” explains the Wellesley, Ont. native over the phone, having just returned from a lookbook shot in Milan.

Lucky for us, Toronto-based Cober offers a glimpse at her day-to-day on her largely unfiltered, just-as-I-am Instagram feed, where the model’s nine-month old daughter Lou makes the odd (adorable) appearance. Over the course of our chat, Cober opened up about motherhood, rebellion and yes, modelling.

Tell me about your day shooting for the cover of ELLE Canada's January issue.

“It was the quintessential Canadian vibe—a true collaboration. The location [Crown Flora Studio] was beautiful; it was like breathing in the tropics. I shot with [the photographer] Max Abadian 12 years ago. It was my very first shoot. So that was a very special moment. And I got to have my daughter on set.”

“Yes. I’m less inclined to say yes to some amazing projects. It’s much harder; I used to go from one job to the next, to the next. And now I have to be a lot more selective.”

Other than your schedule, what factors make you say yes?

“The people. I value my time, and to be away from someone I think is the greatest person on the planet, I want to make sure that I’m working with the right people. After 12 years, I have a better judge of things,”

How else have you evolved as a model in 12 years?

“I feel like I can collaborate a bit more with the people running the ship. I can be a bit more involved. I think now there’s a bit more of an interest in who I am as a person, rather than just what I look like. I’m not sure I like that yet.”

So how do you feel about that? It sounds like it plays into today’s phenomenon of the Insta-model.

“I’m in my 30s now, so I feel like I kind of skipped it. I like to use Instagram to post the pictures of what I want to show, as opposed to letting it have anything to do with work. Once I did a fragrance shoot, I understood that ‘now you’re the face!’ There was a lot of PR, a lot of hype. I had a moment of feeling like I wanted to keep my business and my life separate.

Would you say you’re shy?

“I had an amazing agent when I started in Toronto. I learned that this is a business and you’re self-employed. At the end of the day, you run you. There are a lot of beautiful faces out there, but there are less kind people. I approached going into my agency as my biggest casting. I wouldn’t say I’m shy, but I’m professional.”

Do you feel like this isn’t what you singed up for when you started?

“I was lucky to be able to stop modelling and come back. When I first started skateboarding, everyone thought that was really cool and wanted to incorporate it [into shoots]. And I was like, ‘this is just my mode of transportation because my bike got stolen! ‘I’m not a skater!”

Do you still skateboard?

“Yeah. Everywhere.”

What’s your advice to young models?

“Just love yourself so much for you! The business is always changing; something that doesn’t fit one day will fit another day.”

How did you start modelling?

“I was scouted by an incredible model scout, Anthony Gordon. He was an amazing ballet dancer and he had an eye for faces. He wasn’t a scout at the time, but we went to the same high school, 10 years apart. He found my picture in a yearbook. 5 days later he bumped into me at a shopping mall and when I told him my name, he said, ‘you will not believe this!’ and told me the story and took me to Elmer Olsen. Then I did my first editorial and that was the start."

Was there a point when you thought to yourself “wow, I’m a model. This is my career now.”

“No, I think that took a couple of years. I remember [the agency] showing me Daria on the cover of Vogue and explaining that that was my potential, then I went straight to New York, and from there to Paris.”

What made you stop modelling for a while?

“I came from an athletic background and I was a swimmer. The agency in Paris sent me back immediately because they said I was too big. I came back to Canada, and I thought, ‘this is my body.’ It was the size of my hands and my wrists [that they talked about].”

How did it feel to hear that?

“It made me stronger, more rebellious. But it gave me the opportunity to stop, and start again. When I was 21 I stopped for four months and I went to South America.”

Do you have any hopes or goals for your career?

“An amazing beauty contract or something that sets up 6o days of the year. Before I didn’t want to know what was coming up the next month. Now I love the idea of having more of a set schedule.”

So what does life look like right now?

“For now, I’m just enjoying. My daughter travels so well, and my husband works from home. So on the days we have nothing, we’re just exploring Toronto.”

WATCH: Estee Lalonde plays Fishbowl Frenzy

Books

WATCH: Estee Lalonde plays Fishbowl Frenzy

A few weeks back we had Youtube sensation Estee Lalonde into the ELLE Canada Closet to play a little game of Fishbowl Frenzy! Don't forget to pick up our January 2017 issue to see an exclusive portrait of the Internet star...and now IRL author of a new memoir / life advice book, Bloom.

Frank + Oak and the NBA team up on Raptors merch

Trends

Frank + Oak and the NBA team up on Raptors merch

Canadian fashion label Frank + Oak is always up to something, and tomorrow the Montreal-based brand will drop a 9-piece Raptors collection in collaboration with the NBA. The pieces that make up the line are directional, minimal and best of all—unisex. The pieces include a crisp Oxford shirt patterned with a subtle team logo, a heather grey waffle knit mock-neck and a leather backpack. The coolest piece might be the two-tone pop-over shirt. The Oxford's mock-neck collar and mix of materials offer a completely new take on fan gear. Even fair-weather fans (hey, no judgement) will be tempted by this sleek collab.

The collection will launch tomorrow online and at Frank + Oak's Queen West and CF Sherway Gardens outposts as well as the Real Sports Apparel shop at the Air Canada Center. The brand is set to release merch for 5 more NBA teams in 2017. Until then, go Raptors, go!